Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu conducted a teleconference with officials of different departments on Saturday morning and directed them to take all precautionary measures.

With severe cyclone Vardah expected to cross the Bay of Bengal coast in the next two days, the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday placed the administrative machinery in SPS Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna districts on high alert to meet any eventuality.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu conducted a teleconference with officials of different departments on Saturday morning and directed them to take all precautionary measures.

“I have cancelled my trip to the Gulf (scheduled to begin tomorrow). I will constantly monitor the situation,” he told the officials.

The cyclone is currently 840 km south-southeast of Vishakhapatnam. The sea continued to be very rough around the Andhra coast, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

It moved west-northwestwards in the past few hours at the speed of 17 kmph. The system is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify further during the next 24 hours, the NDMA said.